Iowa State Opens 2012 at Arizona State

01.02.2012 | Men's Wrestling

By: cyclones.com

AMES, Iowa - The No. 15 Iowa State wrestling team faces Arizona State in its first dual of 2012 on Tuesday, Jan. 3, at 8 p.m. (CST) in Wells Fargo Arena in Tempe, Ariz. The Cyclones enter the meet in Tempe, Ariz., after claiming eighth place at the 2011 Ken Kraft Midlands Championships.

Iowa State leads the all-time series with the Sun Devils 24-6. Arizona State enters the nonconference dual after a victory over Boise State and loss to No. 14 Nebraska in the Sun Devil Duals Dec. 29.

Last season the Cyclones topped the Sun Devils 33-14 in Hilton Coliseum. The Sun Devils are the first unranked team the Cyclones have faced since early November, and have not topped the Cyclones in the series since 2004.

Who: Iowa State (0-8, 0-3 Big 12) vs. Arizona State (5-3, 1-0 Pac 12)
Where: Tempe, Ariz. - Wells Fargo Arena
When: Tuesday, Jan. 3, 8 p.m. (CST)
Live Blog: Kayci Woodley, student assistant at Iowa State athletics communications, will be holding a live blog during the meet at cyclones.com. Fans are encouraged to participate in the blog by asking questions. The live blog will begin at approximately 7:45 p.m. (CST).
Live Webcast: http://www.foxsportsarizona.com/pages/sundevils_stream/

Cyclone Notebook
- Cyclone captain Andrew Sorenson leads Iowa State this season with a 16-1 overall record. Sorenson ranks highest amongst Iowa State wreslters, sitting at the No. 4 spot by InterMat.
- At 184 pounds, redshirt sophomore Boaz Beard is 5-1 in dual competition and leads the Cyclones in takedowns with 15. Beard will take the mat for the first time since the Iowa dual Dec. 4.
- Heavyweight Matt Gibson enters the matchup after a scintillating performance at the Midlands Championships in which the Vallejo, Calif., native placed third overall. Gibson lost his first matchup of the tourmament before going on a seven-match winning streak to claim third place. Gibson will face Arizona State's only ranked wrestler, Levi Cooper, ranked 11th nationally.
- Redshirt freshman Luke Goettl earned his first dual victory of the season Dec. 18 against Missouri and has since demonstrated his potential. Goettl placed fifth overall at the Midlands Championships and was the only unseeded grappler to advance to the semifinals.

Iowa State probables
125: No. 11 Ryak Finch
133: RJ Hallman or Shayden Terukina
141: Luke Goettl
149: Luke Swalla
157: Michael Moreno
165: No. 4 Andrew Sorenson
174: Mikey England
184: No. 13 Boaz Beard
197: Cole Shafer
285: Matt Gibson

Arizona State probables
125: Dalton Miller
133: Shane McGough
141: Nathan Hoffer
149: Kyle McIntosh
157: Victor DeJesus
165: Derek Felton or Hans Rasmussen
174: Jacob Graham
184: Kevin Radford
197: Tom Burriel
285: No. 11 Levi Cooper